Lightning strike causes oil tank to catch fire

2012-07-07T02:29:35Z2012-07-21T02:29:21Z

Photo Source: See it, Snap it, Send it

Photo Source: See it, Snap it, Send it

RUSK COUNTY, TX (KLTV) -

Officials tell KLTV that a lightning strike caused an oil tank to catch fire Friday evening in northern Rusk county. The fire happened off of county road 2173-D near lake Cherokee. Officials say the lightning strike caused the tank to fly into the air and land on an un-occupied mobile home at least 100 yards away. At the height of the nights storm, investigators say a lightning strike hit an oil tank , causing it to erupt into flames.

"The lightning hit and then poof. Then all the fire and I said oh God. We was coming down the road to my house and about halfway when it happened, lightning then after that we see explosion," said neighbor Reynaldo Guerrerro.

The blast sent the 300 gallon steel tank over 100 yards , landing on a mobile home and splitting it in half. Neighbors were rattled out of their homes , running back and forth to see if each was unharmed , and wondering what hit them.

"We heard a big boom, and we though it was a tornado , then we looked out the window and there was fire everywhere," said neighbor Tieshonna Jones.

There were homes in the area, but none of them were evacuated. Fire crews from Elderville and Tatum responded to the scene. No other structures were damaged and no injuries were reported.